After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) got back on the winning track with a win over KKR, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who ended the game with a 67, became “nostalgic” as MS Dhoni was also with him when he reached his first IPL fifty. A stellar performance from Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman and Ravindra Jadeja, along with brilliant batting from Gaikwad and Shivam Dube helped CSK beat them by 7 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at MA Chidambaram. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stadium on Monday. CSK continued to dominate in their fort as they had no trouble getting home, ending KKR’s unbeaten run in this edition of IPL. Chennai captain Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 67 to seal the victory for his team.

Gaikwad said Dhoni’s half-century was with him “to finish the game” even during his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“It’s a bit nostalgic for me. In my first IPL fifty, a similar situation, Mahi bhai and I were together and we got it done,” Gaikwad said in his post-match speech.

Gaikwad further claimed that he took on the duties of anchor in the absence of Ajinkya Rahane due to injury and did not want to burden the young players.

“After Jinx got injured, it was my duty to bat and didn’t want to put the youngsters in trouble. It was a 150-160 wicket. Jaddu always comes in after the power play in the spin department,” he added.

Gaikwad also said that everyone in the team has a good attitude and he will get help from MS Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming when needed.

“I don’t really need to tell anyone in this team. Everyone is in a good head space and Mahi bhai and Fleming are still around to take those calls,” the CSK skipper said.

Gaikwad, who scored 115.52, said he did not consider it a slow start. In a lighter tone, he urged leaving such conversations to the professionals.

“I wouldn’t say I started slow, in T20s sometimes you drop one or two balls and sometimes you need a little luck to get started, maybe the experts can talk about my strike rate (laughs),” he added .

Looking back at the match, Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first and the bowlers proved his decision to be successful as Ravindra Jadeja’s brilliant performance of 3/18 kept KKR in the 20th over The score was restricted to 137/9. All three wickets were lost to Jadeja and Deshpande who conceded 18 and 33 runs respectively in four overs.

Gaikwad (67) chased a target of 138 and then sealed it with an unbeaten half-century, while Shivam Dube smashed an 18-ball 28 to lead CSK. Came the third win of the season and broke KKR’s winning streak.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)